Larry Omaha is a Native American comedian and actor known mainly for his stand-up comedy.

His comedy special “Goin’ Native” appeared on Showtime, he has made an appearance on the Gabriel Iglesias Comedy Central show, “Stand-Up Revolution,” and he even voice acted for a character from Mortal Kombat.

Soon, Omaha will bring his comedy act to some of the Georgia Highlands campuses.

Omaha is more than just the man on stage, though. His story does not start how one would think.

Unlike many children, Omaha didn’t grow up on playgrounds or near a park.

As a young boy, Omaha would play in the landfill behind his house. He turned sifting through stuff that others threw away into an adventure.

Rats were constantly in his family’s home on the Southside of Omaha, Nebraska. As a toddler he was even bitten by a rodent as he slept in his crib.

Into his early teen years, Omaha was constantly faced with racism and the typical “Indian” stereotype.

At the age of 13, he began drinking alcohol. When he was 17 he got his girlfriend pregnant, and like many people in his situation, he could not handle the pressure of parenthood.

It wasn’t until he was 20 that his life began to change. Complete strangers, who cared about him, became examples of how he could change his life.

Omaha made the choice to change. He quit drinking and smoking, and his negativity vanished.

Omaha said, “I was living a dream simply because I made the choice to do so. No magic wand. No magic program. Just a couple of strangers who took the time to look me in the eyes and tell me what no one had ever told me, ‘Larry, you can do this.’”

After that life-changing point in his life, Omaha decided that he wanted to be a lawyer. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska and entered the law school there.

But after a year of law school, he realized that all of his notes were actually jokes about the professor.

Omaha decided to drop out of law school and go to the place where all great comedians go, Los Angeles. He now travels all over making people laugh around the world.

Omaha uses a lot of experience in his comedy acts. But instead of being hateful and bitter, he chooses to be funny and ironic. He also hopes that his humor will be mind opening.

Omaha’s birth name is Barrientos, but when he became a comedian, he chose the name Omaha because that is where he grew up.

Omaha truly has an inspirational story for people from all walks of life. He did not let his negativity overcome him and is now living his dream by making others happy.

Omaha will also be in a horror film coming out next year titled “21Days.”

Omaha will be visiting the Cartersville campus on Nov. 7, at 11 a.m. He will perform on the Paulding campus on Nov. 11, at noon and will also be performing the Floyd campus on Nov. 12, at noon.